Track of the Day: 'Civilian'

By John Hendel

The Baltimore duo Wye Oak showed promise in their early
tracks, but it wasn't until 2011's subdued, rolling, punch-to-the-gut single
"Civilian," the title cut from their latest album, that the band emerged as authentic rock heartbreakers. "I am nothing
without pretend," begins Jenn Wasner, testifying to her own vulnerability. She sings of keeping her baby teeth, her need for
intimacy, and her weaknesses. "I still
stand in awe of superficial things," Wasner admits. "I wanted to love you like
my mother's mother's mothers did."

The music swells in intensity and breaks into a gallop after the first
minute and a half. It reaches a screeching, somewhat dissonant conclusion, mirroring the confessional, dazed spaciness of the lyrics. What
stands out about the album Civilian isn't so much the music--although it has become fuller, more energetic and more assured than the band's previous material--as it is the visceral sense of yearning throughout. No song sums up that feeling as well as "Civilian."